Phew! Did I have fun with this chapter. Though, I'm kinda in a rut as to which girl I'll write a poem about next. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated as are recommendations.
With that, cheers all,
Searoar.
"So the book really is all the way up there?" Jaune gulped at the sight of a blue-colored novel that was perched on the highest shelf.
Coco frowned as the book she desired was out of reach. She and Jaune weren't short by any means, but it was impossible for either of them to grab the book without the use of a ladder. If only Velvet were there, perhaps the rabbit Faunus' biology would be invaluable to her partner's plight.
"Ten minutes left, kids." Called the librarian from her desk which lengthened Coco's downturned lips. The fashionista was known to be persistent, and would not do her reputation or personal pride justice if she just quit. After all, the library was closed over the rest of winter vacation, and that would mean Coco wouldn't be able to check out the book for the next two weeks.
"Alright, guess we'll have to head on out then." Jaune scratched his head at the sour pout that marred Coco's fair visage. "Don't worry, Coco, the book isn't going anywhere. You can just get it next time."
If Jaune were able to read minds, he'd realize that what he just said was out of the question. With a sigh, Coco slung her handbag over her shoulder and started to climb the bookshelves. She was shockingly flexible, Jaune thought, as he assumed his cohort's layers of clothes would be a hindrance to her mobility.
"That's not gonna fly for me," Coco said sternly and gave a sultry wink to the boy below, "as this book is a guilty pleasure of mine. I'm sure you understand?"
Jaune shook his head as a blush spread over his face. His parents told him to never judge solely on a person's appearance, and Coco's impressive aggression and balance was proof of that. He really needed to stop trusting his eyes so much, and use the untapped well of knowledge that was begging to be released in his brain. Jaune glanced upward and immediately forced his gaze to his shoes.
Jaune wasn't a pervert, well... he was enough of a gentleman to not gawk and stare and someone he found to be pleasant and physically appealing. Though given that he'd chosen not to climb after Coco, he was given a prime view of her... lower assets that were snuggly clasped in the confines of her firm, yet stretchy black pants.
A distraction... a distraction is what Jaune needed to keep his intimate imagination at bay! The blonde's panicked search led his head to whip back and forth, but his eyes desperately wanted to return to the sight of Coco's slender legs flexing her full, round, booty.
"Agh!" Jaune knocked his skull lightly and stomped his foot. There were plenty of books around to keep his mind off things, so with a quick hand, Jaune grabbed the first book that his fingers touched and let his cerulean pupils browse the novel's refined words.
Only, the book Jaune opened wasn't the innocent sort and was more akin to a mature audience. Steamy scenes about a ninja and a knight from a faraway land, who gained the trust of a rogue female ninja who'd been outcasted from her clan on the pretense of her betraying their laws of no survivors, no matter the task. This brought Jaune's train of thought to a whole new station, one that only had the interests of a teenage boy who was at the prime age to let his hormones take over his logic.
Jaune clamped the book shut, but found the prologue to the tale too interesting to ignore. Thus, with a brave heart, Jaune flipped past the hardcover and first page and allowed his eyes to wander while his brain registered the significance and sincerity behind the novel's lengthy paragraphs.
In the meantime, Coco had made it halfway up the bookshelves and wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead. She really needed to pay more attention to her stamina training, as with the coming of winter vacation, she may have slacked off a few too many days in regard to the gym.
After a deep breath, Coco recalled that she may still have an observer on the ground floor, and was suddenly very aware of the position she was now in. The shelves weren't wide, so some of the heavier textbooks were forced to the very front leaving little room for Coco's toes or heels to find a space large enough to support her weight. In the moment, Coco was forced to stretch one leg upward while the other found solace on an extended ledge on her left side. In reference to a clock, Coco's boots were now pointing at the numbers two and eight.
"Jaune had better not be sneaking a peek at my goods..." Coco mumbled bitterly as her pride was at stake. Sure, she enjoyed the attention of boy's, and a few girls as well, as much as the next person, but only when the fashionista deemed the situation under her control. She looked down at Jaune, and saw his eyes lost in a book, but made sure to stare an extra minute to see if she would catch him putting up an act.
To Coco's delight, Jaune was fully immersed in the novel he'd picked out, and was even talking to himself about the deep meanings behind the book's inked pages. Or at least that's what Coco initially assumed, as the more she listened, she found the blonde had begun to ramble... and did his voice get deeper too?
Coco tried to mute Jaune's ramblings but found his voice growing in volume along with his passion as he put what he thought into words. However, it appeared that he'd lost sight of the novel he was reading as he spared a glance at Coco, much to the girl's displeasure.
"Hey, no looking without my say so!" Coco growled but found her order ignored as she blinked at the hyper-focused visage that Jaune wore. She'd seen how he acted around his peers, and from what Velvet described, he was a tad goofy but good-natured. Yet, the expression Coco witnessed was not that of a teenager, it was that of a veteran philosopher who'd discovered the perfect subject to pour his heart into... and by extension his words of poetry.
Coco swallowed a thick lump and shook her head. She resumed climbing, but her pace had decreased significantly, and eventually came to a complete stop. Both her feet were perched on but an inch of shelf and her gloved fingers compensated for most of her weight and balance as they dug into the shelf closest to her face. A growing heat bubbled from the pit of her stomach that made its way up her neck and showed through her pale cheeks, Coco's face was now reminiscent of that of a tomato as her ears twitched at Jaune's sincere speech.
Lost in the dramatic tone of Jaune's husky voice, Coco's balance wavered and her heart hammered against her chest. Jaune was just messing with her, that had to be the case. Coco was used to being the flirt and vice-versa, and Jaune's attempt to woo her was no exception.
"Tsk, what am I thinking?" Coco said after a click of her tongue. Jaune wasn't trying to woo her, he was simply stating the truth, which was appreciated in a potential partner and decent person in general. Velvet really was being greedy with the little information she'd described about her blonde savior who'd stopped the bullying of Cardin and his goons. Though Coco, Yatsuhashi, and Fox would have stepped up for their favorite bunny Faunus without hesitation had they known about the bullying from the get-go.
"Hah, that was a good read!" Jaune said after a deep breath and closed the book. He'd made it past the first chapter of Ninja's Of Love, which he considered a great accomplishment granted it wasn't his preferred genre. At least now he might widen his perspective from the typical manga, fantasies, and comic books.
"...Can't you talk for a little longer?"
"Huh?" Jaune blinked from his contemplative musings, then veered his sights to the girl that clung to the bookshelves. "Sorry, what was that, Coco?"
Now it was Coco's turn to blink, but with the bat of her long eyelashes, her grip on the shelf wavered and in the span of a second she found her hands free and only grasping air. Coco flailed to keep her balance, her toes scrunching within the confines of her leather boots and thin socks as they tried to remain on the edge of the shelf. From below, Jaune panicked as he ran back and forth with his arms stretched toward the ceiling as he prayed to Oum that he receive a blessing of luck and catch the beautiful girl.
"W-Whoa!" Coco yelped as her left boot slipped. Her leg was now also free, it snapped out across in a last-ditch effort to reach the opposite shelf. Thank Oum Coco had long legs, and that the shelves were close enough to be reached by her perfect split. With a sigh, Coco cursed her misfortune and felt her cheeks glow a hot, cherry hue as Jaune applauded her split-second decision.
"H-Hey!" Coco spluttered like an embarrassed child. "Didn't I say no sneaking a peek at my butt?!"
"Uh, what are you-" Jaune bit his tongue as his mind caught up with what his cohort had said. "I-I wasn't looking at your coconuts, I swear!"
The wave of humiliation was too much for Coco to bear, as was the precarious position that she'd found herself in, and with a slip of a boot, Coco was screaming a pitch that could shatter glass as she plummeted to the floor. However, her landing would be a surprisingly comfortable one, as the strong hands of a certain blonde cushioned her fall. Or to be precise, her firm round coconuts and slender back.
Stuck in an awkward bridal style, Jaune did the only thing he could and chuckled nervously as his heart thundered as fast as a bullhead at full speed. The same could be said for Coco, as her arms had coiled around Jaune's neck like a lifeline until she felt the unintentional grope of Jaune's fingers around her curvaceous bum. Flustered, Coco kicked violently and ordered Jaune to put her down so she could regain her footing and fix her clothes.
Her back facing Jaune, she couldn't bear to have him see her like this, not after everything that he'd already seen and experienced. That, and the emotional dilemma that played on her face was a rollercoaster that dipped between feelings of loathing and skyrocketed to absolute dread.
"You're not hurt, are you, Coco?" Jaune rested a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder and gently squeezed. Thank Oum that Nora had been his weight trainer for the past month, as he would have never been able to save Coco if he were still the scraggly noodle when he first attended Beacon.
"I-I'm fine!" Coco blurted and pinched Jaune's hand off her shoulder. The boy receded and stepped back, giving the girl a moment to gather her bearings.
"D-Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about what happened. Honest." The blonde assured with a formal bow. The action felt silly at first, but he really didn't have any other options to show his sincerity.
"...Thanks," Coco grumbled and pushed her sunglasses up the bridge of her nose with a single finger. "Let's... just get out of here. I'm not in the mood to read anymore."
"Right." Jaune nodded and followed his senior's clumsy footsteps out of the library and into the hallway. Coco didn't bother to look Jaune in the eye when she left, and offered a simple dismissive wave as she strutted down in the opposite direction of where Jaune needed to go.
"Excuse me," said the library attendant who appeared to be rather annoyed. "You're friend left her books behind."
"Oh, thank you!" Jaune nodded and took the stacks of tied books. Thankfully, these were textbooks and not the steamy novels that he'd previously browsed. When the library attendant turned off the lights and locked the library doors, she bid Jaune a bitter goodbye and the boy was once again left to his lonesome. Only he had Coco's books which needed to be delivered.
"Um..." Jaune's mind drew a blank. "Where is CFVY's dorm again?"
/-/
"Oh, hey, Coco. You took longer than we expected, but Fox and I made sure to save you a slice of carrot cake." Yatsuhashi greeted his leader warmly, though he curled a brow when he received no answer. "Er... Coco, where are your books?"
"I'm not in the mood." Coco flopped on her bed face-first and sulked. "Just put the carrot cake slice you saved me in the fridge. I'll eat it later."
Yatsuhashi nodded and let his leader be. Whatever was eating at her, was probably something he couldn't fix at the current moment. Thus, the tall young man decided he should help his other teammates with the special dinner that was going to fill their bellies when it came time to open Christmas presents.
With Yatsuhashi, Fox, and Velvet occupying the dorm's kitchen, Coco was given a moment to properly address all that she'd heard in the library. She smothered her face in her pillow, and let out a pathetic whimper as the redness in her cheeks returned. Why was she feeling this way about a boy she barely knew? A younger boy at that, and she'd heard enough rumors to know that Jaune's approach to the concept of love often landed flat or backfired in tremendous fashion. Yet, despite all that, Jaune had managed to stir Coco's mind and heart to the point that she'd embarrassed herself to a new height with a single, stupid poem!
"That's right..." Coco growled cutely. "All he did was say some words, that he probably got from the book he was reading."
Then it dawned on the fashionista that Jaune had been looking at her the entire time when he'd announced his sophisticated words. Unless the blonde had a perfect memory, which was unlikely, there was no way that he'd been able to memorize such an intricate ensemble of phrases in the span of a few minutes.
Coco rolled off her bed and planted her feet on the floor. She was still wearing her boots, which was a definite no-no given her preference for a clean dorm.
"That blonde must really be messing with my head..." Coco sighed and took off her boots and placed them under her bed. She glanced at her team's shared study desk and saw a pen and a blank piece of paper on it. Coco... needed to keep track of Jaune's words, as his poem was perfect teasing material that would definitely get him to be a pack mule the next time Coco went shopping.
That's right, there was no other reason why the fashionista wanted a physical reminder, just in case she needed to remind herself of how great she was when she was down in the dumps... Which happened to be right now as a matter of fact.
Pulling out a chair, then promptly sitting on it, Coco crossed her legs and began to write with a careful hand. Her grip on the pen quivered halfway through, as the heat in her cheeks returned and her heart skipped a beat.
Covered in pure leather to the finest threads of cotton and silk.
I find myself eyeing a loveliness hidden behind a complexion of cloth.
Though her shades may hide the emotions in her hazel eyes.
She cannot fool me, for I know where true beauty resides.
Let my song reach you, Coco Adel.
From where you are perched I bless your strong will.
For persistence itself is an allure that commands admiration.
I give my soul to you, for the ambition of greatness is within reach.
Yet, why do your movements slow, my love?
Has the fear of falling frozen your heart?
If so, let my passion be the fire that melts away the frost.
For I am but a man that cannot reach the heights you have climbed.
But... If time would allow.
Would you wait for me, my dearest Adel?
As not even a steep mountain can prevent my devotion.
I will meet you in the clouds above.
With each heavy step, I remind myself of you.
And that is all the motivation an Arc requires.
To stand at his beloved's side.
"Heh... for someone who's supposed to be a goof, you're surprisingly deep and complex. Aren't you?" Coco giggled as she put down her pen and fawned over her poem. Though she did pout slightly as her handwriting wasn't as nice as Velvet's, but there was no way in Remnant that she was going to ask her favorite BunBun to see what she wrote. Or anyone on her team for that matter, that also includes any general person on campus.
"It's a little late to be studying, isn't it?" Asked Fox as he stood behind his partner and leader.
Coco jumped off her seat and covered her paper with crossed arms. "N-No peeking at the goods!"
Fox tilted his head and looked at Coco as if she were particularly dim. "Er, no problem. Since I'm blind that should be easy for me."
"J-Just give me some space!" Coco demanded and uttered a hasty apology. "What I wrote isn't for you guys."
"Just like how my precious poem wasn't meant to be read, either? Is that what you have, Coco, a poem?" Velvet peeked out of the kitchen with narrowed eyes and perked ears. The fashionista had been gone for quite a while, so there was a chance that she ran into a delightful blonde on her way back to the dorm.
"Oh, a poem?" Yatsuhashi joined the others in the main section of the dorm where their beds, study desk, and closets resided. "I'm a fan of old-fashioned literature myself, I'd love to read what you've written, Coco. That is if you'll allow it."
"Sorry, but what's written on this paper is for my eyes only!"
"Yeah..." Velvet's tone was a tad on the sassy side. "I don't think so. Yatsuhashi told me how you were going to get me to spill the beans about what I wrote on my carrot cake, but I already smeared them and wrote down my poem on a separate piece of paper. Which happens to be in my back pocket."
Coco blushed. "I'll only let you read mine if you let me read yours, BunBun!"
Velvet's own visage was now red as a turnip. "T-That's not fair!"
"It's times like these that I'm happy that I can't read," Fox whispered to Yatsuhashi as the two boys stepped into the sidelines.
"I don't think there's any need for concern. Though the girls can get pretty loud, I've never seen them act out on their threats in regards to each other." Yatsuhashi sighed with a smile.
Yet, the tallest member and his quiet cohort would find themselves wholly unprepared for the storm to come. As with Coco's pride on the line and Velvet's privacy as well, the two girls activated their weapons and semblances. In the flash of sparking mechanics and dust, an enormous Gatling gun and a transparent copy were manifested and were now pointing at one another.
"Girls, no weapons!" Yatsuhashi leaped into the fray and snagged the handle of Coco's weapon while Fox seized Velvet's.
"What's gotten into you two? A poem can't harm your relationship this much, can it?"
Coco and Velvet puffed their cheeks as sparks erupted between their heated stares.
"How about," Fox intervened and put himself in the middle of the room with both hands raised towards his riled teammates, "we settle things peacefully and keep our dorm in one piece? It'd be a shame to ruin all of the Christmas decorations we put up."
"Fine..." Coco grumbled.
"Okay..." Velvet sighed as her ears drooped.
"There, was that so hard?" Yatsuhashi laughed, then excused himself to tend to the person who knocked on the dorm's front door while the girls of CFVY bickered as Fox played the role of mediator.
When all was settled, Coco plopped on her bed and Velvet returned to the kitchen, with Yatsuhashi approaching his team leader with a stack of tied books.
"Jaune stopped by," Yatsuhashi said, "apparently you left the books you bought at the library, Coco."
In the blink of an eye, Velvet was back in the main room with her arms crossed and her face put in an adorable pout. Coco's visage flushed a guilty scarlet, but she was granted an escape when her scroll went off. The fashionista excused herself to the hallway, and half-hoped that she'd see Jaune, but alas the boy was nowhere to be seen and the caller on her scroll happened to be her father.
"...So, what's this poem that you wrote, Velvet?" Yatsuhashi asked kindly.
Velvet huffed, and refused to say any more on the matter. Though her whisking of the kitchen batter was definitely more erratic... and fierce.
/-/
"Okay, that was a good journey!" Jaune nodded to himself with his hands on his hips. He was glad he'd passed by Weiss when the library closed, and was even more thankful that she hadn't been present during his and Coco's mishap.
"Hah, the winter air does wonders to clear a guy's head."
"To that, I have to agree completely." Replied a mature voice that rattled Jaune.
"O-Oh, headmaster, sorry. I didn't see you there."
"That's fine," Ozpin chuckled, "I was a little lost myself. Though since my coffee's run out, I suppose it's time to return to the mountain of paperwork that's gathered on my desk."
"Best of luck with that!" Jaune beamed with a thumbs up.
"By the way," Ozpin tapped his cane against his shoe, "Ms. Goodwitch was rather flustered when she entered my office. You wouldn't happen to know why would you?"
"Um..." Jaune cupped his chin. "The only thing that comes to mind is the coffee that spilled on her blouse when Nora bumped into her. Other than that, I'm stumped."
"I see," Ozpin shrugged, "enjoy the holidays, Mr. Arc. The regular classes won't be easier if you let yourself get carried away."
"Of course, headmaster!" Jaune waved goodbye and continued his journey to the middle of the courtyard where the biggest statue on campus resided. He found an empty bench in front of the statue but had to pat off the fresh snow before sitting down.
"Thank you kindly," said a voice that was definitely feminine.
Jaune visibly shuddered and whirled around to witness a tall, exceptionally beautiful, student standing behind him. For the love of Oum, the blonde really needed to be more aware of his surroundings and get his head out of the clouds.
"N-No problem!" Jaune rubbed his neck, but didn't pay attention to the snow on his palm and gave himself a chill. The stranger smirked at his mistake and promptly took her seat.
Jaune decided to sit down as well but kept as close to the side as he could. This made the woman next to him curl a brow, as she'd assumed that the blonde was being naively nice and would've simply left her after he'd cleaned the bench.
Jaune's mind was in absolute turmoil. Why on Remnant did he decide to sit down?! He could've found another bench, as there were plenty when he glanced around, but for some strange reason, he decided to occupy the same one as this pretty girl!
Jaune noticed the cuffs of the girl's uniform had a streak of red, which meant she was in the same year as Coco and Velvet. Though, if Jaune were to trust his gut instincts, the student beside him might've been a couple of years older. However, his gaze wandered a little too long to make note that the pretty girl was wearing the shortest skirt in Beacon's selection, with sheer, off-black pantyhose and dark brown slippers.
"See something that you like?" Asked the girl in a playful tone, yet there was a certain glint in her golden eyes that did not sit well with Jaune.
"Er, no, sorry." Jaune hung his head and eased onto the bench awkwardly. He tried to keep his eyes on something that was interesting, but the courtyard appeared to be unoccupied save for the two below the statue.
"I... see." The girl's nose scrunched slightly at the blonde's remark. He'd been rather blunt with it, and most teenagers would've been tripping over their words while in her presence. Did he swing the other way?
"It's pretty cold out here, huh?" Jaune chuckled nervously and turned to the stranger to engage in some ice-breaking conversation. "It's a good thing that Beacon's uniforms come with complimentary gloves, eh?"
That's when Jaune noticed, the girl did not wear any gloves, nor the jacket that came with their uniform either. In fact, the girl was rather unprepared for the chilly weather, but didn't seem to be bothered by it at all.
"Say..." The girl leaned on one hand as she spared a look Jaune's way. "Aren't you the partner of Pyrrha Nikos?"
"Oh," Jaune thanked Oum for a topic that he was familiar with. "Yes, I am. Jaune Arc, it's nice to meet you."
The blonde had abandoned his initial approach when introducing himself to the opposite sex, as his father's legendary pickup line had done his son no good from the day he stepped on campus. Instead, the humble approach proved to be less troublesome and often left a decent impression if anything.
"Cinder, Cinder Fall." The girl replied, and her golden eyes flashed with curiosity. Again, the girl's stare made Jaune feel on edge, though he couldn't really explain why.
"That's a nice name," Jaune mentally facepalmed when he registered what he said, but continued talking to recover the pleasant atmosphere he'd established. "N-Not that the rest of you isn't nice, or nice looking! I-I just..."
And down Jaune went, into the hole where the sun doesn't shine and mercy does not reside. Why did he have to be so flustered when in the presence of cute girls? In moments like these, he really wished that his parents and siblings had bestowed the knowledge of how to keep your cool when conversing with a stranger.
"Yes, I am pleasing to the eyes, aren't I?" Cinder's lips spread to a predatory smile. "Care to walk with me, Jaune?~"
The blonde's jaw dropped for a second, then clicked shut as he meekly nodded and hopped off the bench. To his astonishment, Cinder took his arm and wrapped it around hers, so that when they walked, they gave off the impression of a merry couple to any potential bystanders.
Jaune's heart was in overdrive, and his lips trembled in anticipation of what would become of this intimate interaction. It got even worse, or better when Cinder decided to tilt her head so that it rested on Jaune's shoulder.
"So... tell me about yourself." Cinder purred and her hot breath sent a bolt of heat through Jaune's body as she whispered in his ear.
Meanwhile, in Jaune's mind: Warning! Warning! It's actually happened! Pretty girl who wants to interact with you, is confirmed! Wake up the inner poet to salvage and remove the awkward atmosphere that is bound to arise! Go Jaune Arc, Go!
Jaune was utterly unaware of his brain's choices, as all of it was done by his subconscious in the spur of the moment.
In Cinder's point of view, when the secret assassin received no response, she slowed their walk and focused her attention on the blonde's quiet ramblings. Cinder frowned, she wasn't putting in the effort to please this average boy so he could quietly self-contemplate. She needed information on his partner, the champion of Mistral, one of the people who were a threat to her nefarious plans.
And yet, the more Cinder listened to Jaune's ramblings, she found her determination for nefarious plans slipping, as a crack had formed in her evil, stone-cold heart... which soon turned to absolute hot mush as she reveled in what she was hearing.